BG Bryant-o-rama, Grantham premiere, Austin
This past Saturday night, Bruce Moss and the Bowling Green Wind Symphony presented a concert featuring several of my works, including the parody pieces and their corresponding originals. I think I occupied over 50% of the concert, which is a bizarre (and wonderful) feeling. The only difficult thing in this situation is that, instead of just getting nervous once, it was a repeated rollercoaster of nervousness-exhilaration-exhalation. But I’m NOT complaining… 🙂
HUGE thanks to the Bowling Green Wind Symphony (and Bruce Moss!) for being my willing guinea pigs over the past couple of months, and for letting me peer over their shoulders at almost all of the rehearsals (and for pointing out some errata I’d never discovered before!). This has been an immensely gratifying and valuable part of my residency at BGSU. THANK YOU!!
Not to rest, I rode back up to Michigan State along with Verena and the MSU grad. conducting gang (sbout-out to Vivian, Doug, Bill, and Tim for coming to the concert at BG!) for their big premiere with the MSU Wind Symphony of Donald Grantham’s new “Starry Crown” last evening. It was commissioned by Kevin Sedatole and a consortium of schools in honor of director emeritus John Whitwell, who was also in attendance and conducting last evening. The piece was great fun to listen to – it quotes three old gospel songs, and essentially recreates the atmosphere of a revival with the trombone section standing up to “preach”. It’s also orchestrated flawlessly, and was another of those humbling “I really need to go get schooled in orchestration” moments. I also got to meet Grantham and his wife Suzanne, who were both incredibly pleasant and lovely to talk to. He even invited me to speak to the UT Austin composers’ forum next year!
Which brings me to something I have neglected to announce: I’m moving to Austin, TX this fall! Verena will begin her DMA in conducting with Jerry Junkin at UT, and I will hang out, composing music, and working at Taco Cabana in order to pay the bills (that’s a joke…I hope).
So, if you’re a director in Texas and you are interested in having me to your school as a guest composer / Taco Cabana PR spokesman*, please let me know! I’m also really looking forward less snow in April (it snowed heavily in BG on Saturday night. Bleh.).
Lastly, tonight, Ken Thompson and the BG New Music Ensemble will be performing Loose Id for brass ensemble at 8pm in the Union Ballroom on the BGSU campus. This is the same version I just finished for SoundINN Brass for Midwest this past December. Hard as nails…hope the brass players still have chops left… 🙂
Oh, and we’re off this weekend to Jasper, Indiana, for the world premiere of Suite Dreams. Really looking forward to meeting the band and director James Goodhue in person, and to hearing the piece, of course!
* not affiliated with Taco Cabana in any way whatsoever, and in fact have never eaten there